Terrorism - technical definition

Under U.S Code, section 2656, terrorism is defined to be violence brought against targets (usually noncombatant ones)—violence that is not only premeditated but also politically motivated. The groups carrying out the acts of violence are commonly subnational groups, religious extremists, or clandestine agents. The objective of their violence is to influence some audience, usually a nation or its people. International terrorism therefore usually involves acts of terrorism involving citizens of more than one country and is usually carried out by a terrorist group.

After the September 11, 2001, attacks, Al-Qaeda has been said to engage in acts of international terrorism. To counteract such offences, on April 20, 2005, the United States posted rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of two Canadians born in Tunisia—Abderraouf Jday (aged 49) and Abdelaziz Boussora (aged 51). Both terrorists were alleged to have ties to Al-Qaeda.

According to government reports, seemingly minor terrorist activities occur on a more regular basis than most citizens would suspect, but these go relatively unnoticed because large numbers of individuals are not killed. For example, during President George W. Bush’s visit to Canada at the start of December 2004, Hydro-Quebec announced that it must tighten security around key installations after an anti-­globalization group naming itself “the Initiative for Internationalist Resistance” claimed responsibility for sabotaging a transmission tower in the backwoods of Quebec. Apparently, explosives were used in the terrorist exercise at a tower carrying high-voltage electricity to the United States. The group claimed the act was a “protest” timed with President Bush’s visit to Canada, but it had the potential to cause deaths and could thus be viewed as an attempted terrorist activity. More recently, in June 2006, an alleged group of 17 Canadian insider terrorists had their plot thwarted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Because the plan was discovered prior to any violent attacks, no one was injured.

See Also: Al-Qaeda; Critical Infrastructures; Critical Networks.